General news

• Leading Nasa climate expert says July likely to be hottest month on record

  20-07-2023 23:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Gavin Schmidt of Goddard Institute for Space Studies warns of likelihood of new high as heatwave bakes large parts of planetJuly will likely be Earth’s hottest month in hundreds if not thousands of years, Gavin Schmidt, the director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told reporters on Thursday, as a persistent heatwave baked swaths of the US south.Schmidt made the announcement during a meeting at Nasa’s Washington headquarters that convened agency climate experts an
  
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• Ron DeSantis is planning a campaign reboot as he struggles to close the gap with Trump

  20-07-2023 23:30 via nbcnews.com
  
  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign is planning a reboot, top campaign officials said, with a significant shift on messaging, events and media strategy.
  
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• Kashmiri girl, 11, makes rare plea to meet rebel father jailed in India

  20-07-2023 23:17 via foxnews.com
  
  The eleven-year-old daughter of a prominent Kashmiri rebel leader who was sentenced to life in prison in neighboring India issued an emotional appeal on Thursday, urging New Delhi to allow her to meet her ailing father. Razia Sultan, the daughter of Mohammed Yasin Malik, 57, made this emotional demand after she was allowed to address the regional legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "I was only two years old when I met my father. I have now turned 1
  
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• Tragic helicopter crash claims life of pilot in western Canada

  20-07-2023 23:15 via foxnews.com
  
  A helicopter pilot was killed in a crash in western Canada in the third death in recent days connected with efforts to fight fires in the country's worst wildfire season on record. The pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter when it crashed Wednesday near Haig Lake in northwestern Alberta province and forestry workers were unable to resuscitate him, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. He was declared dead at a nearby airport. Police said the pilot was a 41-year-old man from Whitecourt,
  
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• MeToo charges against celebrities shake Taiwan showbiz

  20-07-2023 23:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Celebrities including a pop star and a top TV host face allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
  
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• California school district fined $1.5m after rejecting curriculum with Harvey Milk

  20-07-2023 23:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Gavin Newsom, the state governor, said his office will provide new school textbooks and send a bill for violating state lawsA school district in southern California will be fined more than $1m after rejecting a curriculum that included Harvey Milk, the pioneering gay rights leader who the the school board’s president has called a “pedophile”.Gavin Newsom, the California governor, announced on Wednesday that his office will send textbooks to the Temecula school district that inc
  
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• Cambodia faces rigged election as Hun Sen extends total control

  20-07-2023 23:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Cambodia's authoritarian ruler has crushed all opposition - so what hope is there for voters?
  
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• Canada: crash kills pilot of helicopter fighting wildfires

  20-07-2023 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Forestry workers unable to resuscitate unnamed pilot, 41, after helicopter went down near Haig Lake in north-western AlbertaA helicopter pilot has been killed in a crash in western Canada, in the third death in recent days connected with efforts to fight fires in the country’s worst wildfire season on record.The pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter when it crashed on Wednesday near Haig Lake in north-western Alberta province, and forestry workers were unable to resuscitate him, th
  
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• The dark history of the courthouse in Jason Aldean’s new music video

  20-07-2023 22:55 via nbcnews.com
  
  Country singer Jason Aldean is facing backlash for featuring Maury County Courthouse, the site of a black teen’s lynching in 1927, in his music video.
  
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• 18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion

  20-07-2023 22:47 via nbcnews.com
  
  An 18-year-old northeastern Nebraska woman was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail and two years of probation for burning and burying a fetus she aborted with her mother’s help in a case watched by advocates as a slew of states move to restrict abortion access.
  
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• D.C. and Louisville appoint Black women as police chiefs

  20-07-2023 22:42 via nbcnews.com
  
  Two major U.S. cities announced this week the full-time appointments of Black women to lead their police forces.
  
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• Amsterdam to close cruise ship terminal amid effort to restrict tourism

  20-07-2023 22:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Move by city council follows action to limit public cannabis use and to discourage wild partying by young BritonsAmsterdam’s city council has decided to close a cruise ship terminal in its centre, in the latest attempt to limit mass tourism in the Dutch capital.“Polluting cruise ships are not in line with the sustainable ambitions of our city,” said a statement from the centre-right party D66, which runs the city with the social democrats PvdA and GroenLinks environmentalists.
  
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• Senate Foreign Relations Chairman criticizes Sen. Rand Paul for holding up nominations

  20-07-2023 22:34 via nbcnews.com
  
  Sen. Bob Menendez issued a scathing rebuke of Sen. Rand Paul's hold on State Department nominations as the Kentucky Republican seeks information on Covid-19.
  
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• US officials concerned over missing soldier's well-being in North Korea, say priority is to bring him home

  20-07-2023 22:13 via foxnews.com
  
  U.S. officials revealed further details about Travis King's situation prior to his escape into North Korea while admitting that Washington has not yet made contact with its counterparts in the Hermit Kingdom. "I don't think very much is known," Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said at the Aspen Security Forum, admitting that she didn’t think the U.S. had "successfully made contact with the North Korean authorities." "What we certainly know is he did willfully, essentially, you kn
  
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• Trump State Department appointee found guilty of seven felonies in Jan. 6 case

  20-07-2023 22:13 via nbcnews.com
  
  Federico Klein, a Donald Trump political appointee, was convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Thursday.
  
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• Russia-Ukraine war: US cluster bombs being used by Kyiv against Russia, White House confirms – as it happened

  20-07-2023 22:09 via theguardian.com
  
  This blog is now closed. To read our latest news on Ukraine, click here.What we know on day 512 of the invasionThe Belarus Red Cross has sparked international outrage after its chief told Belarusian state television that the organisation is actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas to Belarus.A report that aired on Wednesday on Belarus state TV showed Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, visiting the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Lysychansk
  
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• Supreme court ethics: Senate committee approves new rules as fresh Clarence Thomas claims emerge – as it happened

  20-07-2023 22:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Rules passed along party lines; conservative nonprofits reportedly orchestrated a $1.8m PR campaign to defend supreme court justice
  • This blog is now closed. To read more about Donald Trump click hereHere’s a rundown of the ethical controversies supreme court justices have been involved in.Real estate transactionsJust about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on the supreme court, the highest court in the land in the United States, a
  
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• Donald Trump faces midnight deadline to decide whether to face grand jury

  20-07-2023 22:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Three charges relating to the Capitol attack are reportedly being considered, among other legal challenges for the ex-presidentDonald Trump faced a deadline of midnight on Thursday to say if he would appear before a Washington grand jury convened by the special counsel Jack Smith to consider federal charges over his election subversion and incitement of the attack on Congress on 6 January 2021.Late on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter, the Guardian reported that prosecutors h
  
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• Tragedy strikes in northeastern Congo as bomb blast kills 9, leaves a dozen injured

  20-07-2023 21:59 via foxnews.com
  
  At least nine people were killed and a dozen wounded when a bomb went off in a village in northeastern Congo, a local official said Thursday. The bomb exploded in the eastern territory of Rutshuru on Wednesday evening, according to Isaac Kibira, a deputy to the province's governor. A local self-defense fighter — part of a militia to protect the community — was tinkering with an unidentified object on the ground when it detonated in the village center, instantly killing him and eight
  
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• No plans to change abortion policy despite GOP demand, Army secretary says

  20-07-2023 21:55 via nbcnews.com
  
  SEO: Army Secretary Christine Wormuth says there are no plans to change the Pentagon’s abortion policy despite a blockade on military promotions by a Republican senator opposed to the policy
  
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• Chris Pincher appeals against proposed eight-week Commons suspension

  20-07-2023 21:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Standards committee had recommended suspension of Conservative MP after upholding groping allegationsFormer government whip Chris Pincher is to appeal against an eight-week parliamentary suspension imposed on him following allegations that he drunkenly groped two men at the Carlton Club in central London last year.This month, the standards committee found that the MP’s conduct last summer was “profoundly damaging” and amounted to an abuse of power. Continue reading...
  
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• Israeli ex-security czar backs reservist protest against Netanyahu judicial reform plan

  20-07-2023 21:44 via foxnews.com
  
  The former head of Israel's internal security agency voiced support on Thursday for military reservists refusing to serve in protest of the government's planned judicial overhaul, drawing fierce criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultranationalist allies days before parliament was set to vote on a key piece of legislation. A parliamentary committee approved late Wednesday a bill that would curtail the Supreme Court's oversight powers by removing its ability to strike down decision
  
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• Farage affair is ‘a monumental PR disaster’ for exclusive bank Coutts

  20-07-2023 21:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Private lender’s reputation is at risk after decision to cut ties with former Ukip leader and comments about himNatWest boss apologises to Nigel Farage over Coutts account closure rowExplainer: What the new rules on bank account closures meanFor 331 years Coutts’s reputation for guaranteeing the utmost discretion made it the bank of choice for the rich and famous – including King Charles and every member of the royal family since George IV.Now Coutts finds itself a very high-pr
  
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• Pioneering hacker Kevin Mitnick, felon turned security guru, dead at 59

  20-07-2023 21:35 via nbcnews.com
  
  Kevin Mitnick, whose pioneering antics tricking employees in the 1980s and 1990s into helping him steal software and services from big phone and tech companies made him the most celebrated U.S. hacker, has died at age 59.
  
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• UK's banking chief apologizes to Nigel Farage after bank apparently boots account over political beliefs

  20-07-2023 21:24 via foxnews.com
  
  U.K. banking chief Dame Alison Rose on Thursday apologized to Nigel Farage after the former Brexit leader accused Coutts of closing his bank account over his political beliefs.  Farage took to Twitter on Tuesday, reading from a 40-page internal memo he had obtained from the bank. The documents, he alleged, showed internal correspondence between bank officials who said retaining him as a customer would be incompatible with the bank’s position as an "inclusive organization." Alison Rose
  
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• The 'Barbie' movie ushers bimbo feminism and hyperfemininity into the mainstream

  20-07-2023 21:21 via nbcnews.com
  
  In “Barbie,” the titular character has a hard lesson to learn: Being a woman in the real world is uncomfortable. But for many of the women watching, the film feels like a celebration of hyperfemininity being accepted into the mainstream.
  
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• U.S. companies’ diversity efforts are legal, Democratic AGs say

  20-07-2023 21:12 via nbcnews.com
  
  Democratic attorneys general pushed back against claims by Republican counterparts that corporate workforce diversity programs amount to illegal discrimination.
  
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• The Chinese spy balloon was a wake-up call to the head of NORAD to improve U.S. threat detection

  20-07-2023 21:10 via nbcnews.com
  
  The suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew across North America earlier this year exposed important gaps in the United States’ ability to detect airborne threats, a senior U.S. commander told NBC News in an exclusive interview.
  
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• 'It just keeps going': Hospital burn units fill up as relentless heat bakes the Southwest

  20-07-2023 20:56 via nbcnews.com
  
  As record temperatures linger across the U.S., some are experiencing serious medical effects such as second- or third-degree burns and heat-related illnesses.
  
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• Tourists helicoptered out of Swiss ski resort after cable car breaks down

  20-07-2023 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Chairlift was also part of rescue operation to evacuate almost 300 people from ski station at 3,000 metresHelicopters have been used to evacuate nearly 300 people from a high-mountain station in the Swiss Alps after a cable car to the top broke down.A technical problem was detected on Thursday morning involving a cable car up to the popular Glacier 3000 ski resort in Les Diablerets mountain massif in south-western Switzerland, the station chief said. Continue reading...
  
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• WATCH: Alligators cross South Carolina park's pathway

  20-07-2023 20:37 via abcnews.go.com
  
  A pathway in a South Carolina state park lived up to its "Alligator Alley" nickname as multiple gators stepped out from the woodwork to cross the walkway.
  
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• DOJ examining Texas trooper's allegations of 'inhumane' migrant treatment

  20-07-2023 20:33 via nbcnews.com
  
  The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into allegations by a Texas trooper that Gov. Abbott's border enforcement actions were endangering and injuring migrants.
  
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• A teachers union says it's fed up with social media's impact on students 

  20-07-2023 20:33 via nbcnews.com
  
  The nation’s second-largest teachers union said Thursday it was losing patience with social media apps that it says are contributing to mental health problems and misbehavior in classrooms nationwide, draining time and money from teachers and school systems.
  
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• Cheetah dies in India due to radio collar infection, raising more criticism against conservation project

  20-07-2023 20:13 via foxnews.com
  
  An eighth cheetah death in India’s Kuno National Park last Friday has raised new questions about a project that reintroduced the big cats to the country 10 months ago and has been mired in controversy since its inception. The latest death was caused by an infestation under a cheetah's radio collar due to humid and wet weather conditions in central India, according to veterinarians from South Africa who is closely involved with the project. The Indian government said the cheetah deaths bein
  
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• Canada battles worst-ever wildfire season, as North America engulfed in smoke

  20-07-2023 20:10 via foxnews.com
  
  Canada's worst-ever wildfire season has choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months, coupling with deadly heat around the globe in a summer that's focusing the world's attention on the perils of climate change. By this week, some 42,000 square miles had burned — an area roughly equivalent to the U.S. state of Virginia. About 900 fires were actively burning, with only about one-fifth considered under control. Aerial views gave a glimpse of the fire's sometimes hopscotching
  
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• Heat wave intensifies wildfires in Greece, international firefighting teams mobilize to assist

  20-07-2023 20:08 via foxnews.com
  
  Firefighting aircraft and ground crews from other countries headed to Greece on Thursday to help battle wildfires that have intensified as a heat wave baked much of southern Europe in temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. New evacuations were ordered Wednesday as wildfires raged near Athens. In a round-the-clock battle to preserve forests, industrial facilities and vacation homes, evacuations continued for a third day Thursday along a highway connecting the capital to the southern city of C
  
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• Mercury exposure linked to high youth suicides in Canada First Nation

  20-07-2023 20:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Grassy Narrows’ exposure to toxic metal helped cause a suicide rate three times higher than other communities, research findsDecades of mercury exposure has been linked to the high youth suicide rates in an Indigenous community in Canada, in the latest finding to underscore the catastrophic legacy of environmental contamination.Researchers who studied three generations of mothers and their children from the community of Grassy Narrows, Ontario, have concluded that sustained exposure to the
  
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• Gilgo Beach investigators looking into unsolved murder cases nationwide to see if suspect is connected

  20-07-2023 20:01 via nbcnews.com
  
  Investigators are looking into unsolved murder cases nationwide for a possible connection to a Manhattan architect charged in the Gilgo Beach serial killings.
  
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• 5 fatally shot in St. Vincent as Caribbean island battles with surging crime rates

  20-07-2023 19:54 via foxnews.com
  
  Five people were fatally shot in the capital of St. Vincent as the eastern Caribbean island struggles with a rise in violent crime, authorities said Thursday. The victims were killed late Wednesday in Kingstown in an outdoor area near a cruise ship terminal, police said in a statement. No one has been arrested, and it wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the shooting. MEXICAN VOLUNTEER SEARCHERS FIND 27 HACKED-UP BODIES IN REYNOSA, NEAR TEXAS BORDER St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a clus
  
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• Police find 'possible' gravesite and clothes tied to Texas serial killing suspect

  20-07-2023 19:53 via nbcnews.com
  
  Suspected Texas serial killer Raul Meza Jr., who allegedly confessed to two murders in May, may be linked to yet another case after police in Austin found a possible gravesite and clothing.
  
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• What is happening in India's Manipur and why?

  20-07-2023 19:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 100 people have been killed in ethnic violence that has engulfed a small Indian state.
  
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• Russian prosecutors push for 20 year sentence for imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny

  20-07-2023 19:51 via foxnews.com
  
  Russian prosecutors have asked a court to sentence imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 20 years in prison on extremism charges, his ally Ivan Zhdanov said Thursday. According to Zhdanov, the trial against Navalny, which has been held behind closed doors in the prison where the politician is serving another lengthy sentence, is scheduled to conclude with a verdict on Aug. 4. If the court finds Navalny guilty, it will be his fifth criminal conviction, all of which have been widely seen
  
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• North Korea fails to answer entreaties about US soldier who crossed border

  20-07-2023 19:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Travis King had finished prison term in South Korea for assault and was supposed to be returning to TexasNorth Korea is not responding to US attempts to discuss the American soldier who crossed the heavily armed border and whose prospects for a quick release are unclear when military tensions are high and communication channels inactive.Pte Travis King, who was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea for assault, ran into North Korea while on
  
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• Women's World Cup 2023: Co-hosts New Zealand and Australia begin with emotional wins

  20-07-2023 19:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New Zealand's players had tears in their eyes after defeating Norway in the opening game of the 2023 Women's World Cup - while Australia's own winning feeling was one of relief.
  
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• RFK Jr. helps House Republicans troll Democrats on censorship

  20-07-2023 19:25 via nbcnews.com
  
  House Republicans praised Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a congressional hearing Thursday, attacking Democrats for censorship.
  
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• Extreme weather continues across Europe as further heatwave looms

  20-07-2023 19:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Temperatures remain high as hailstorms hit northern Italy, with fourth heatwave forecast to hit southern Europe next weekHailstorms have hit northern Italy as near-record temperatures begin to ebb, but forecasters have warned of a fourth heatwave hitting southern Europe next week, with temperatures of up to 48C.More than 110 people had sustained injuries after the north-eastern Italian region of Veneto was hit on Thursday by extreme weather, including large hailstones, said the governor, Luca Za
  
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• Brazilian constitution translated into Indigenous language for first time

  20-07-2023 19:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Translation into Nheengatu hailed as a historical moment for the country and its native populationsThe Brazilian constitution has gained its first ever official translation into an Indigenous language, in what has been hailed as a historic moment for the country and its native populations.The translation into Nheengatu was unveiled on Wednesday in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a town deep in the Amazon, in a ceremony attended by Brazilian authorities and Indigenous leaders. Continue reading..
  
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• House passes bill that would raise retirement age for pilots to 67

  20-07-2023 18:59 via nbcnews.com
  
  The House voted Thursday to pass legislation that would reauthorize the FAA, the agency that oversees commercial airlines and airports, for the next five years.
  
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• Iraq expels Swedish ambassador after desecration of Qur’an in Stockholm

  20-07-2023 18:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Baghdad also recalls chargé d’affaires from Sweden as protesters storm Swedish embassy in IraqIraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of the Qur’an in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.A government statement said Baghdad had also recalled its chargé d’affaires in Sweden, and Iraq’s state news agency reported that Iraq had suspended working permits
  
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• WHO searches for origin of contaminated cough syrup linked to 6 children's deaths

  20-07-2023 18:48 via foxnews.com
  
  The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked the Indian authorities for help in establishing the origins of a contaminated cough syrup that has been linked to children's deaths in Cameroon. The U.N. agency issued a warning on Wednesday about a syrup branded as Naturcold, which was sold in Cameroon and linked by authorities there with at least six children's' deaths. The syrup contained extremely high levels of the toxic contaminant diethylene glycol, the WHO said. The manufacturer of Naturcold
  
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